Get on the blower...

For people in the risk business, they seem mighty unwilling to take much of a risk themselves and as a result premiums will continue to soar.

However, there is still something you can do about it. Not a lot, but still worth trying.

SHOP AROUND

More important for insurance than anything else. Unlike supermarkets or holiday companies, where prices vary only minimally, insurance prices vary alarmingly (see table). We're actually talking hundreds of pounds here. In once case, quotes varied by £1,600 - which is worth a few phone calls of anyone's time.

You can sit yourself down with Yellow Pages and phone around, but the easiest way is to use a broker - either through Yellow Pages or the Internet. Once you have filled in the form, tedious but you get used to it, they can give you a number of quotes in seconds.

BUT

Different brokers work with different insurance companies and work things out differently, so it's worth trying a number of different brokers.

You can still get some bizarre results. The CGU company which gave us the cheapest quote with one broker, apparently, refused to quote with another. Even more disconcerting because as General Accident they've actually been insuring me for all my driving life.

In the world of motor insurance it seems, anything can happen.

HAGGLE

Sometimes you'd think you were in a street market. Don't be shy. One of the first question insurance companies ask you, is "What's your cheapest quote?" If they can't match it, they sometimes throw in something extra, like free legal cover or a guarantee courtesy car.

CHECK THE SMALL PRINT

Find out exactly what you're getting, things like how much you pay for smashed windscreens, if you are getting European cover. Do you need European cover a courtesy car, legal costs, breakdown cover? If you need it, make sure you're getting it. If you don't need it, then don't pay for it.

ONLINE QUOTES

This can be the easiest way of all of sorting out insurance, just get on the Internet. Many insurance firms will give you an instant quote over their website. The AA says this makes their quotes five per cent cheaper. Best of all, are the brokers who have websites.

BEST SITE: SCREENTRADE

WWW.Screentade.com

An excellent site. This is an insurance broker. The site is quick and easy peasy to use, with plenty of help if you want it. They work with 22 companies and give you the top five quotes, with full details of what they're offering, plus a brief list of other companies and their quotes.

Then, when they've found you the cheapest quote, they even suggest ways in which you cam make it cheaper still. This actually felt like a very friendly site

And, just to keep you satisfied, they then list the websites of other insurers so you see if they can beat them.

FIRST QUOTE

www.1stquote.co.uk

Another broker. The site is more fiddly to navigate. They came up with a good quote, but just give you the cheapest and no information on any more.

DIRECT ON LINE INSURANCE

AA - fiddly to use.

Egg - almost impossible to navigate and if you are anything other than the world's safest driver, they won't quote on line but ask you to call.

Direct Line - again, ask you to ring in.

Norwich Union Direct - you have to ring in.

SPECIALIST FIRMS

There are a number of firms aimed specifically at special groups - women, older drivers, younger drivers, low mileage drivers. A surprising number of these turn out to be insurance brokers, the same insurance brokers. Not necessarily a bad thing.

BEST PHONE BROKER

Dealing with some insurance companies over the phone is deeply depressing. Granted, it can't be much fun to have to answer queries all day, but some of the people we dealt with sounded only half a step away from brain dead, apart from the sharp intake of breath when I told them how many miles I did in a year.

Best by far was Colonnade Direct. Very helpful people. One sitting in a call centre, the other in an office in Bishop Auckland. Gave us some of the cheapest quotes and were helpful and friendly with it.

HOW TO MAKE IT CHEAPER

A lot depends on your age, your job and where you live - not much you can do about that.

But there are other things you can do.

Get a smaller car. The smaller the engine, generally, the cheaper to insure. Don't go for flash models either. If you live in the centre of Newcastle, don't drive a hot hatch, it will cost you a fortune.

Limit the number of drivers

Increase the excess. Usually £100, you could save £10 if you upped that to £250.

Fit a security device. No, get the dealership to fit it.

Clear the garage and put the car in it. That could be £12 a year cheaper than parked on the drive and about £30 cheaper than parking in the street.

Don't use it for work. Commuting is alright, but business use adds pounds to premiums.

Drive less. As far as insurers are concerned, the ideal driver probably does two miles a week, goes to church on Sundays, and that's it. Anything more than 10,000 miles and they get panicky. Over 25,000, and they go into a blue fit.

Keep teenagers away from the car. Very far away. Ideally on another planet. This is where the money gets really serious. And if your teenager has had a bump, as most have, we could easily be talking thousands. And that's if your lucky. Many companies just won't quote for new teenage custom, not even on mother's car.

EXAMPLES TO FRIGHTEN YOU

I am a grown up with a pretty good driving record. In 23 years driving I have had three small bumps and no convictions and cost my insurance company a paltry £1,500. I live in one of the safest post codes in Britain and my three year old estate car lives in the garage or on the drive. I am safe. You'd think insurance companies would love me. Wrong.

When giving my details to insurance companies, there are certain answers that always trigger a sharp intake of breath. I'm self employed (gasp), a journalist (double gasp) and drive over 25,000 miles a year (at which point they practically faint dead away). These are the quotes I was given for fully comprehensive cover:

CGU: £315, £100 excess (via Colonnade)

Panel Cornhill: £330, £250 excess (via 1stquote)

Cornhill Horizon: £346, £200 excess (via Screentrade)

Tesco: £351, £100 excess

Saga: £432, £100 excess, from AXA

RAC Direct: £450, £125 excess

Norwich Union Power Point Club: £448, £250 excess. (via Screentrade)

Admiral: "well over £500 I'm afraid."

Royal Sun Alliance Drive: £563, £100 excess (via Screentrade)

Toyota: £584 , £100 excess.

Legal and General Autovantage 250: £643, £350 excess (via Screentrade)

Sabre Lady Select: £782, £150 excess (via Screentrade)

TEENAGE DRIVER

BAD NEWS

Insurance companies don't want teenagers. Many won't insure them at all, even on a parent's car. Others will only accept them if parents have been insured with the company for a year or more.

Most demand a higher excess.

If you're insuring a teenager on a parent's car and there's another car in the family, many companies assume that the teenager will be the main driver of that car and will charge accordingly.

Prepare to be cross-examined. Say your student son will be using the car only during holidays and you get bogged down in the exact duration of university terms.

The temptation is to let them have a cheap, old car and insure it for Third Party only. This might be cheaper, but will you sleep safely at night?

GOOD NEWS

Some insurance companies accept that not all teenagers are the drivers from hell. Brokers 1stquote, for instance, e-mailed back, pleading with us to talk to them direct as they could probably give us a cheaper quote.

If you have a good insurance record with your company, they might be sympathetic and even start you off with a decent no claims bonus on a second car. Try talking to a real person in an office rather than an automaton at a call centre and you could be lucky.

There are post-driving test courses for teenagers - Pass Plus, for example - which are not only good in themselves, but can also reduce teenage insurance dramatically, by as much as 35 per cent with some companies.

If you're buying a car for your teenager, it's worth looking at new cars that offer free insurance. In some cases, it could be cheaper than buying a second hand car and paying your own insurance.

EXAMPLES TO TERRIFY YOU

We asked about insurance for Senior Son, almost 19 and with 18 months clear driving record - since he drove a car into a hedge the day he passed his test. Some companies would allow him as a joint driver on a seven-year-old Corolla - on my second car insurance with a titchy bit of no claims discount. Others wouldn't . ("Well you'd be driving the estate car, so it's virtually just for him, isn't it?" snapped one stroppy little madam) and insisted he start from scratch on his own.

This is the bad news for fully comprehensive cover:

Toyota: £1,128; £200 excess

Royal Sun Alliance: £1,400; £350 excess (via Colonnade Direct)

Tesco: £1,464; £400 excess

Norwich Union Power Point Club: £1,655; £100 excess (via Screentrade)

Sabre Select: £1,678; £150 excess (via Screentrade)

Zurich Solutions: £1,961, excess £450 (via 1stquote)

Cornhill Horizon: £2,345; £350 excess (via Screentrade)

Forth Autoline: £2,770; £250 excess (via Screentrade)

REMEMBER.

You are legally bound to have at least Third Party insurance. Comprehensive insurance might be horrendously expensive, but it's still cheaper than buying a new car. Usually.